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“Be downstairs in five minutes or we’re leaving you behind,” was all Kaz Brekker said when he had called Jesper at a bright and early seven am that morning, not even waiting for a response before he hung up again. They were going to a roller coaster theme park, one that was mixed with a water park as well. It had taken Kaz some convincing to go with them, but then there were plans and somehow Kaz had gotten them all tickets for free. They didn’t question it.
Kaz being Kaz, had planned everything to the minute, as the park was over an hour and a half drive, and opened at a crisp nine am, so, he would be picking them all up quite early that morning. Luckily, Wylan had packed their bags the night before, filled with snacks and water and sunscreen and their swimsuits and towels. Wylan didn’t play with tardiness, the anxiety of being late to something, even something as casual as this, could overtake him and ruin it all before it even began if he wasn’t prepared.
“Come on, let's go before he really does leave us behind,” Wylan tugged on Jesper’s hand, urging him to stand up from the couch. Jesper went with a groan, yes, he wanted to spend the day with Wylan and their friends riding roller coasters, but their bed and couch were both so comfortable, it had been a mistake getting dressed and sitting back down so early in the morning.
Walking hand in hand down their apartment stairs, Jesper and Wylan piled into the minivan that was Kaz’s car. They were going to grab Nina and Matthias next, and Inej was already in the passenger seat, so they shoved themselves into the third row bench seats. Wylan had barely buckled his seat belt by the time Kaz was peeling away from the curb and down the street.
“Excited, baby?” Jesper reached over to grab his hand, thumb already rubbing circles into his skin. Wylan blinked a bit and turned to look at him, at the way Jesper’s legs were stretched out to rest between the second row’s seats, his legs too long to be crunched up in front of him. He was wearing joggers and a random band tee, but he looked handsome anyways.
“Yeah, are you?” Wylan replied, smiling a little. He was in comfortable shorts and one of Jesper’s hoodies, the sleeves a little too long for him and falling down to cover his hands a bit. It was a chilly morning, but would warm up as the day went on, so he made sure to layer with a shirt underneath.
“Very,” Jesper grinned and bounced in his seat a bit, just unable to stay still even if they had such a long drive to go. It was a blur getting Nina and Matthias, the two of them piling into the car with a flurry of movement and some yelling and noise, but then they were on the highway and listening to the radio and talking over each other across the car as they drove to the park.
After the initial excitement died down, Wylan had taken to drawing in his sketchbook, Jesper’s hands having pulled his legs up to lie over his lap, his ringed hands drumming a beat into his shins lightly. Wylan had no idea what song it was supposed to be, but he didn’t want him to stop. He loved it when Jesper touched him so casually, like he wanted to do nothing else but touch him. It made him glad they both enjoyed physical touch so much, and he didn’t care if it made him appear clingy. Clingy was okay, especially if they both enjoyed it.
Wylan was drawing him again, like he did often. His sketchbook had become full of several sketches of Jesper, from several different angles. He drew him as he saw him, in a profile view, his earrings on display and the line of his septum piercing visible as Jesper looked out towards the front of the car. He was talking to Inej about something, not caring that they had to talk across the length of the car to do it.
Wylan drew the line of his jaw, the scrunch of his eyebrows, the way his eyelashes curled up and brushed the top of his eyelids. He liked drawing his lips the most, and shifted in his seat a bit as he drew the lines of them. Jesper glanced at him briefly as he adjusted, his large hands smoothing over Wylan’s legs for a few moments before resuming his drumming.
They gathered around the car once they got there, the tall metal roller coasters and water slides looming in front of them. They had all screamed out once they had first appeared on the horizon, Nina’s squeals matching the excited shouts from Jesper as he pressed his face to the window to look.
“So, I was thinking,” Jesper clapped his hands once and rubbed them together in front of himself, looking around at the circle of people that were his friends and his boyfriend. “We stick together for the morning, get lunch, and then split up after?”
Everyone seemed fine with that plan, as Jesper and Wylan had planned to go to the waterpark portion of the park in the afternoon, but knew that Kaz would surely not want to tag along for that.
They got through the gates without fanfare, with whatever procured tickets Kaz had on his phone, the six of them immediately making their way to the large ride near the entrance of the park. The tracks were green and teal in color, full of twists and even a full loop. There were plenty of people already swarming around with them, but Kaz hadn’t just gotten normal tickets, because of course he hadn’t. If Kaz could get them free tickets, then he could also get them free fastpasses, the yellow paper bracelets reflecting from their wrists and allowing them to move basically to the front of the line for every ride.
“Oh, Nina, do you have a hair tie?” Wylan looked over at her, because if anyone had a hair tie, it would be her. Nina smiled and pulled one off of her wrist, and Wylan went about trying to tie up his curls. They had grown a bit long over the summer, just starting to brush his shoulders. He didn’t put them up often, so it became a tricky thing to do when he didn’t have a mirror to look into like he usually did when he tied them up.
“Here, let me,” Jesper noticed his struggle and lightly took the hair tie from his fingers, looping it over his wrist as he came to stand behind Wylan. Wylan stood still as they waited behind the small line of other fastpass-goers, the rest of their friends talking quietly and half-watching Jesper tie up his boyfriend’s hair. Jesper combed his fingers through his red curls, pulling the top half of it back from hanging in his face. Wylan shifted on his feet a bit as Jesper’s fingertips scratched at his scalp a bit as he combed through his hair, and Jesper smirked a bit from behind him.
Jesper pulled the top half of his hair into a ponytail shape, holding it with one hand as he expertly used the other to pull the hair tie from his wrist and start looping it around the hair. After a few adjustments, Wylan was left with half of his hair up, showing off the dotting of freckles and few acne scars on his forehead.
“Thanks,” Wylan said, and Jesper just rested his hands on Wylan’s shoulders and leaned forward to kiss the crown of his head, lingering for a few moments before pulling away at the exaggerated gagging sounds Nina was emitting in front of them.
“Get a room!” She complained, snickering as Wylan stuck his tongue out at her despite the light pinking of his cheeks.
“Come on,” Kaz grumbled as it was their turn next, the six of them tumbling onto the platform and slipping into the roller coaster seats. This one was the type that let their feet dangle freely, large, over-the-shoulder restraints coming down to hold them to the seats, locking in place as they sat. Jesper and Wylan sat next to each other, Nina and Matthias in front of them, with Kaz and Inej behind them.
As soon as they sat down and waited for the workers to check that their restraints were tightened correctly, Jesper took to swinging his feet back and forth, long legs moving in the open air below them. Wylan was doing it, too, albeit a bit less than Jesper was.
“I wonder why people do that,” Wylan wondered out loud, his hands already gripping the handles on the shoulder restraints, like he was already riding the ride instead of waiting in the loading platform.
“Do what, Wy?” Jesper looked over at him, or in his direction at least, only the top of Wylan’s head being visible from atop the bulky green restraints over their shoulders. Wylan nodded down to their swinging legs.
“Swing our legs. Almost everyone does it as soon as they sit somewhere high up, like a tall chair or a swing, or like this.” Jesper looked down at his swinging legs, his foot brushing Wylan’s every so often. The worker was to their row then, pushing on their restraints and moving along quickly to the rest of the people behind them.
“I’ve never really thought about that, to be honest. Just feels right, to me at least,” Jesper looked back up at Wylan’s forehead, raising an eyebrow as Wylan’s eye caught his as the coaster started moving out of the loading platform and onto the first hill, a loud clicking noise sounding in the air as the carts were carried to the peak. Wylan just hummed a bit, gripping onto the handles a bit tighter as they neared the top. He wasn’t scared, per say, but the anxious excitement of riding roller coasters was always a lot to handle as they started a new ride.
Jesper’s hand left his own handle and moved the short distance to Wylan’s, peeling his fingers from the handle to intertwine with his own instead, hands clasped tightly in the space between their seats. They couldn’t say anything before they were going down the first big hill, swinging to the side and twisting around and around and in loops and drops as the coaster went on, screams and yells being ripped from their throats as the wind bit at their faces and made tears well up in the corners of their eyes.
Jesper’s grip on his hand was strong throughout the entire ride, the metal of his rings pressing into Wylan’s skin, but not uncomfortably. Wylan’s heart was racing by the time they were stopping again and rolling into the loading platform again, laughs falling from his mouth as he blinked back into existence. The adrenaline rush from riding these metal machines was always so fun, and he had forgotten how much he enjoyed it.
Jesper let go of his hand so they could both push off their shoulder restraints once they were unlocked, jumping down from the seats and back onto their feet. It was a bit crowded going through the exit gate, so Jesper just placed his hands on Wylan’s shoulders again and walked out behind him, their steps fitting together perfectly so neither of them stumbled, for they walked connected practically at the hip all of the time and had become used to walking in this way.
Nina was jumping as she walked back out into the park proper, Matthias’ grin wide as he followed her. Inej was smiling lightly, and Kaz didn’t look much different than he usually did, other than his hair being pushed back from his forehead from the wind of the ride. They chatted excitedly as they walked to the next ride, one that was huge and wooden and probably the biggest in the entire park. It would be shakier and rougher, being made of wood instead of metal like the newer coasters were, but that was half of the fun with riding it. This one also appeared to have several dark tunnels that the coaster went through, which would place them into complete darkness as they shot forward.
They switched up the seating arrangements that time, Wylan sitting with Nina as Jepser sat with Kaz. They rotated like this with every ride they went on throughout the morning, each sitting with a different person from their group while they were still together, knowing that they would all be splitting up after lunch. Wylan and Kaz exchanged maniacal grins as they finished a particularly thrilling ride sitting next to each other, both of their eyes wild and hair askew as they unbuckled their seatbelts and climbed from the seats.
It was half past noon when they left the last coaster before Nina declared she wanted lunch, so they all made their way to the food court section of the park, filling up on sandwiches and snacks and chips and drinks, tucked under some trees and a large umbrella as they crowded around a picnic table. Wylan had taken Jesper’s hoodie off by then, the sun having climbed high into the sky with very few clouds to block its path. It would make the waterpark very fun and relieving, that was for sure.
“Where are you guys going after lunch?” Wylan asked around a bite of his sandwich, directing it to Inej and Nina, who sat across from him. Inej nodded at him, looking at Kaz for a moment before returning her gaze to Wylan.
“Probably just more coasters, there’s one in the back that’s supposed to be the fastest in the park,” she said, taking a sip of her drink after she finished speaking. Nina nodded in approval, stabbing a piece of food with her fork as she answered next.
“Maybe the waterpark? Or just more rides,” she said, looking at Matthias, who just nodded. He wasn’t partial over anything specifically, he just wanted to have fun.
“We’re going to the waterpark, too,” Jesper nodded, one hand drumming on the tabletop as he ate another chip. They were planning on heading back to the car to grab their bags to change, even if they would have to rent a locker in the waterpark. Kaz wouldn’t give him the keys, so they all made their way out to the car together, as Nina and Matthias had decided to go to the waterpark as well.
Wylan and Jesper walked into the changing room inside the archway into the waterpark, sharing a stall to get changed. It was just a square with a bench along one wall, just big enough for them to change into swim trunks. Jesper busied himself with peeling off his joggers and pulling on his hot pink swim trunks, before pulling his shirt from over his head in one smooth motion. He turned from the bench to say something to Wylan, the words dying immediately in his throat as he took him in.
Wylan was wearing baby blue trunks, paired with a white swim shirt. Even in the weird lighting of the bathroom, he looked beautiful, and Jesper just allowed himself to admire him as Wylan fiddled with his ponytail.
“What?” Wylan looked at him, chewing on his lip a bit as he stared at Jesper’s bare chest. He got to see it often, with them living together, but he never took advantage of an opportunity to be able to look at his boyfriend so unabashedly. He found him so beautiful, with the little acne scars on his shoulders, the lines of stretch marks crawling up his sides from growing so tall so quickly as a teenager. “I… wasn’t really sure I wanted to walk around without a shirt, sorry.”
“Huh?” Jesper shook himself. He was most definitely not judging him for his decision to wear a shirt, no, he was just staring at the way Wylan’s freckles had become a bit darker in the sun, the pink growing on his cheeks as they stared at each other. Jesper just caught him by the upper arms, thumbs rubbing into his biceps soothingly. “Wy, I don’t care whether you wear a shirt or not, you do whatever makes you the most comfortable,” he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lightly-pouting lips, Wylan’s own hands coming up to his waist as he melted into it. Wylan’s hands dragged up his sides appreciatively, fingers pressing into the subtle divots that were his stretch marks. He loved them, and loved him.
“Thank you, Jes,” Wylan whispered when they separated, cheeks growing a bit more red as Jesper grinned at him.
“Come on, lets go,” Jesper pulled away, grabbing him by the hand to pull them from the changing stall and over to rent a locker for them to shove their bags and shoes into. “At least now I don’t have to worry about you burning and turning into a tomato.”
“I do not burn like a tomato!” Wylan pouted again, feigning being grumpy about being called a tomato.
“No, you burn like a Dorito, or a lobster,” Jesper shot him a grin from over his shoulder, stopping them in front of their borrowed locker. He pulled out the sunscreen before they shoved everything into it, clicking it open. It was the spray kind, so luckily they wouldn’t have to rub it into Jesper’s skin for ages to keep him from looking like a ghost. “Turn around, let me get the back of your neck and arms and stuff.” Wylan shivered as the cold aerosol spray hit his skin, trying to stand still as Jesper walked around him and sprayed him. Wylan returned the favor afterward, making sure to get every inch of Jesper’s exposed back and his legs. “Alright, what do you want to do first?” Jesper stood with his hands on his hips as they looked out across the large waterpark, at the tall slides and towers of stairs, the large wave pool off to the right, the lazy river wrapping around to the left.
“Um, maybe… maybe not the wave pool,” Wylan chuckled a bit sheepishly, rubbing at his neck as Jesper looked down at him. He nodded easily, instead just taking his hand and tugging him towards the closest tubing slide, a pile of two-person inflated tubes near the entrance to the stairs.
“Sure, we don’t have to do anything we don’t want to. What about this one?” They both picked up the large tube, tugging it along and climbing up the winding stairs until they reached the top. The water was rushing down the length of the slide quickly, and they settled into the tube a bit awkwardly, Wylan sitting in the front, Jesper sitting behind him, his legs bracketing around his hips, his feet brushing along the sides of his thighs. Wylan rubbed up and down his shins a few times as the lifeguard kept them from going down the tubed slide until it was their turn, leaning back to look at Jesper upside down from his spot in front of him.
Jesper grinned at his upturned face, his hands tugging at one of his loose curls as his hair dangled over his lap. Wylan sat back up straight as they were allowed to go down the slide, the tube completely enclosed and dark as they went down it. It had some sharp curves, causing them to slide up the sides of the tubes as they went around the corners, little shrieks of joy pulling from their throats as the water splashed over them, matting Wylan’s hair down to his head and neck, the curls deflating immediately under the weight of the water.
They shot out from the end of the slide into the pool at the end, skidding across the surface until they came to a stop. Jesper climbed out of the tube first, reaching a hand down to help Wylan dislodge himself from the seat.
“Agh,” Wylan’s face scrunched into itself as he pulled his swim shirt from being stuck to his skin, forgetting how it felt to wear a wet shirt, even if it was designed to be worn while swimming.
“You good?” Jesper asked as he dragged the innertube from the shallow pool, swinging it around to deposit it back into the pile of tubes by the entrance. Wylan followed him, staring at the way water droplets fell down his shoulder blades, the way his garishly-bright trunks stuck to his thighs. Jesper turned around to face him when he didn’t answer, and Wylan took in the way water glinted off of his piercings, the jewelry in his ears and his nose and his eyebrow glinting off of the sunlight.
“Uh huh,” Wylan said a bit dumbly, absentmindedly walking across the pavement towards the next water slide, this one was a type without the need for tubes, instead they would just slide down it themselves. Jesper chuckled knowingly, taking his hand as they walked and swinging them a bit wildly between them as they went. The line on this next one was a bit longer, so they had to wait halfway up the stairs, Wylan a step above Jesper, bringing them to equal height for once.
Jesper took to playing with his fingers, dragging one of his own fingers along the edges of Wylan’s hand, dragging up the side of one finger and down the other side, briefly intertwining their fingers before undoing them and drawing patterns into the skin of his palm. Overcome with fondness, Wylan leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Jesper’s forehead, taking advantage of the fact that he didn’t have to reach up to do it for once. Jesper’s eyes fluttered shut at the soft brush of his lips, opening back up as Wylan pulled away.
They stared at each other for a few long seconds before being spurred into walking up the stairs a bit more, as the line of people had moved in front of them. Jesper squeezed his hand again before dragging his fingers up Wylan’s forearm, sliding over to rest on his lower back as they stood and waited for their turn to go. There were two slides at the top, and Jesper’s eyes sparkled a bit as Wylan brought up the idea of trying to race to the bottom, if for nothing but just a laugh.
“Orange or blue,” Jesper nodded at the colored slides as they got to the top, letting Wylan choose his slide of choice for their race. Wylan hummed for a second before stepping to the orange slide, smirking a bit competitively over his shoulder as Jesper stepped up to the blue slide. Jesper grinned back at him counting them down as they sat at the tops of their slides, pushing themselves off once he got to three.
Wylan sped down his slide, shifting up the sides as the open tube curved and looped around, falling a bit harshly into the pool at the end. He blinked open his eyes to see Jesper falling into the pool next to him, only a second or two behind him. They dragged themselves out of the pool laughing, not even caring about the race in the end, even if Wylan teased him a bit about winning. Jesper just jabbed him in the side a bit, laughing as Wylan squealed a little and jerked away from his hand.
“Lazy river, next?” Jesper asked as they walked towards it after having gone on a handful more slides and tubes, liking the idea of doing nothing for a little while after so many hours already of riding so many roller coasters and water slides already.
“Yeah,” Wylan nodded at it, as they got tubes from the pile next to the entrance and stepped into the lightly-running water. It wasn’t strong enough to whisk them away as they stood, but as soon as they both got settled onto their tubes, they were slowly making their way down the wide lazy river. They were both sitting in their tubes with their legs dangling over the sides, unable to control the pace in any way. Jesper was holding onto one of the handles on Wylan’s tube to keep them from getting separated, allowing his head to rest back and close his eyes, comfortable knowing Wylan was doing the same next to him.
“Did you end up looking up why people swing their legs so much?” Jesper mumbled as they curved around the wide bend in the river. They were facing each other, but Jesper didn’t open his eyes as he asked the question.
“Yeah, I looked it up at lunch. It's basically just some subconscious thing we do, like swinging our arms as we walk, or how you feel the urge to rock in a rocking chair,” Wylan responded, his hand traveling along the plastic tube until he found Jesper’s arm without having to open his eyes, trailing them over his drying skin as he talked. Jesper couldn’t move it without accidentally letting go of Wylan’s tube, so he just relaxed into the light touch, his other hand dangling in the chlorinated water.
“So, different from fidgeting, then?” Jesper knew how the fidgeting from ADHD worked in him, the urge to constantly be moving and doing something, bouncing his legs or moving his hands or drumming on surfaces, usually tabletops or somewhere on Wylan’s body. He had never asked him to stop, so he didn’t.
“I think so,” Wylan said, not stopping his fingers from dragging and drawing patterns into Jesper’s arm as they floated down the river. The water was shallow here, and would barely go to his hips if he was to stand up in it, but it was easier to ignore it if he just kept his eyes shut. Jesper hummed, settling a bit deeper into his tube as they floated. His hand was still gripping at the handle of Wylan’s tube to keep them from separating, their tubes bumping into each other every once in a while as the water brought them together. He adjusted it to try and keep them pressed together, his elbow resting on the curve of Wylan’s tube, brushing along the skin above his knee and the hem of his blue trunks.
They just floated like that, lightly touching each other just to be connected, not caring how long they floated or how many times they floated around to the beginning of the river again and again. Jesper almost fell asleep like that, listening to Wylan’s breathing and the soft water sounds, having to continuously tighten his grip again to keep them from separating.
“Nap, if you want, I can hold onto your tube,” Wylan said softly, having felt the little jerks as Jesper woke up from his dozing as clenched the tube handle. Jesper relented and let go of his tube once Wylan had reached out to grab his, unfortunately having to remove it from Jesper’s arm to do so. “Gimme your arm,” Wylan reached across his body with his free hand to grab Jesper’s own hand, pulling it into his lap. Jesper squeezed at his thigh lovingly before relaxing it entirely, allowing himself to finally doze into a light nap, trusting that Wylan would keep them connected. He was being lulled into sleep as Wylan resumed drawing swirling patterns into his skin, scratching lightly sometimes before returning to soft touches.
Jesper napped for probably a solid twenty to thirty minutes, before he was blinking awake as the sun shone down on them brightly. His skin was basically completely dry then, making it a bit chilly as they finally climbed out of the lazy river the next time they came upon the exit. Jesper stretched his arms above his head as they stood on the pavement, arching over to the side to deepen the stretch a bit. Wylan stared at him, not even bothering to hide his gaze, taking in the way Jesper’s side stretched and exposed the long line of his ribs and chest.
“See something you like?” Jesper teased, flirting for the simple fact that he could, even if they had been together for years at that point. He didn’t need to flirt, not really, for they already loved each other and knew how much they enjoyed the other. He still liked to do it, if only to see how red he could make Wylan’s face get.
“You know you’re hot, don’t give me that see something you like ,” Wylan said a bit sarcastically, ignoring his hot cheeks to instead cross his arms across his chest. His swim shirt had mostly dried in the sun as they floated around and around in the river, making it a bit more comfortable to wear while not actively in the water.
“Still nice to hear, yeah? Because you’re gorgeous, I’ll have you know,” Jesper stopped stretching in favor of pulling Wylan into his hold, his arms looped around his lower back. Wylan allowed his hands to rest on Jesper’s chest, his fingertips teasing at the sharp jut of his collarbone.
“Really, now?” Wylan fell into it, the flirting. He wasn’t the best at it, but everything was always so easy with Jesper, even with their pretend banter back and forth like this.
“Always, baby,” Jesper murmured before bending down to kiss him, their lips soft and pressing between them. They were still in public, so they didn’t let it get too deep, Jesper pulling away with one last soft peck to his lips. Wylan’s eyes blinked back open as he did, utterly content with it all. “Alright, there's a few more slides left, or we can get changed again and do the rest of the roller coasters.”
“I think I’m good with being done with the water, if you are,” Wylan mused, his hands dragging down Jesper’s front a bit teasingly. Jesper nodded, the two of them turning and making their way back to the lockers and changing rooms so they could get back into their normal clothes and ride the rest of the roller coasters in the park. Wylan still wanted to ride that fast one in the back of the park that Inej had talked about.
They got dressed again with a few more kisses mixed in, just unable to help themselves as they dried off fully and pulled on their clothes again. They rode the rest of the rides in the park until evening, taking full advantage of their fastpass bracelets to jump towards the front of the lines. Each one seemed more exciting than the last, and Wylan was bouncing on his feet as they finally got to the super fast coaster at the back of the park. It made them both scream, the first hill of the coaster incredibly high and coming back down at such a steep angle. It had several more steep drops and had a few tunnels as well, one of which flashed with the lights of a camera.
They laughed at themselves as they looked at the picture after leaving the ride, at Jesper’s wide open mouth and Wylan’s thrown up arms, his hands spread wide in the air as they shot down the dark tunnel of the ride.
“Wy?” Jesper was standing facing Wylan as they waited for the next ride, swinging both of their hands together in between them.
“Yea, honey?” Wylan gave him his full attention, waiting for whatever Jesper was going to say next.
“Would you still love me if I was a worm?” Jesper said, completely seriously. Wylan blinked at him, waiting for him to crack a smile or laugh. He didn’t.
“Jes, what? Why would you become a worm?” Wylan was confused, for this was so random and had come out of nowhere.
“If I was a worm, would you still love me?” Jesper said again instead, chewing on his lip as he awaited Wylan’s answer. Sighing, seeing that he wouldn’t get out of answering, Wylan decided to just indulge him a bit.
“Yes, Jes, I would still love you if you were a worm. I’d build you a little habitat, with flowers and plants and plenty of stuff to eat,” Wylan tilted his head to the side, his hands still captured in Jesper’s, still lightly swinging back and forth between them.
“Thanks, baby,” Jesper leaned in to kiss his slightly-sunburnt nose. “I’d still love you if you were a worm, too, just so you know.”
“Thank you, Jes,” Wylan laughed a little, for it was all just a bit ridiculous. “I’m glad we cleared that up.”
“Of course, it was a very important question that I needed to address.”
“Mmhmm,” Wylan tugged him towards the loading platform of the coaster, as they had finally gotten to the very front and were next to get on the roller coaster. It was another inverted coaster, their legs dangling below them as they strapped into the ride. They both laughed a little as they realized that their legs had immediately started swinging, waiting for when the ride would start.
They met up with the rest of their friends as the sun finally started to set, meeting up at an agreed location near the front of the park over text. Wylan was tucked into Jesper’s side as they walked, his arm strung over his shoulder as they walked past a long line of carnival games. Jesper tugged them to a stop as he spotted a shooting-based game with fluffy frog stuffed animals for the prize, smiling as he knew how much Wylan would enjoy having one.
“Hold on, let me win you a frog,” Jesper pulled out a few dollars from his wallet, handing them to the person running the game and picking up the fake rifle, peering down the length of the game to the balloons at the far wall. This would be an easy win.
“You have five shots, and you need to pop 3 balloons to win a prize,” the worker explained the rules a bit boredly, they had probably said these words so many times every day for who knew how long, it was probably tiring, especially along with having to deal with the sore losers who didn’t win a prize. Jesper just nodded and took aim, taking a steading breath before firing his first shot.
It hit. Wylan made a little noise from behind him, but Jesper just recentered himself to the next balloon, before firing and grinning when that one popped as well. He did it one more time, pulling away and cheering lightly when he had popped three balloons. The worker seemed a bit surprised about it, but quickly spurred themselves into congratulating him and asking which frog he wanted.
Jesper looked back at Wylan, raising a brow to tell him to choose a frog plushie from the piles around them. Wylan chose a light green one, liking the pastel shade and how soft it looked. It wasn’t too large, big enough to cuddle and hold in his arms without being oversized.
They walked away with their new prize, Jesper’s arm rewrapped over Wylan’s shoulder as he held his new frog up to his chest.
“What are you going to name it?” Jesper asked as they walked towards the entrance, and Wylan looked down at the frog.
“Mm, I’m not sure. What about Jerry?” Jesper laughed.
“I like it. He can be friends with Tulip and Mr. Cat,” Jesper grinned, Tulip being the stuffed rabbit his mother had made him as a child, and Mr. Cat being Wylan’s childhood cat stuffed animal. They sat at the top of their bed together, and now this new frog would be joining them.
They had to stop once more so Wylan could win Jesper a green lightsaber, able to perfectly toss balls into a tilted-over wicker basket, tossing them with just enough force to keep them in the basket without flying back out again. Jesper had giggled like a kid on Christmas when he got it, stepping away briefly to almost-expertly swing it around like a sword, the light inside shining a bright green against the dwindling sunlight. Wylan watched with a smile as he swung it around a bit, Jesper stepping forward with one foot suddenly to playfully poke Wylan in the side with it, just barely tapping him.
Wylan played into it, overdramatically pulling away with an exaggerated yell of pain, clutching at his side as if he had been mortally wounded. Jesper laughed and caught him around the waist with his free hand, pulling them into each other as they dissolved into giggles.
“I win you a lightsaber and the first thing you do is stab me with it?” Wylan says, still laughing, Jerry the frog pinned between their chests. Jesper cackled before kissing him in apology. They finally had to pull apart and actually make their way to the entrance, as their friends were surely waiting on them by then.
They all talked excitedly together as the group made their way out of the park for the last time and got to the car, returning to the seats they had used that morning. The only difference was that Jesper laid his head down in Wylan’s lap as they got back onto the highway, allowing his eyes to close as he cuddled Jerry close to his chest, relaxing into the feeling of Wylan’s fingers carding through his hair, lightly rubbing and scratching at his scalp in soothing, slow movements. It was hard not to fall asleep, something he allowed himself to succumb to once Wylan had leaned down to whisper it into his ear, kissing the shell of it before leaning back into his seat again.
It was a good day, full of fun and excitement and love. Love for their friends and for each other and the love for the thrill of it all, of riding roller coasters and water slides and even lazy rivers.
“I love you,” Jesper mumbled into Wylan’s hair as they cuddled in bed that night after being dropped off, Wylan being pillowed on his chest and their legs tangled together under the blankets.
“I love you, too,” he responded, voice slurred from tiredness. His grip tightened around Jesper’s stomach a bit, pulling them even closer together, if that was something that was possible.